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October 2021 Newsletter

Update from Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Strategy and Operations)
Richard Calvert - Sheffield Hallam University

As we welcome our new student cohorts back onto campus, we've all been re-discovering the value of re-connecting, not just with others in our university community but also the wider community of which we're such an important part.

We’re learning to adapt to our own version of hybrid working, and looking to embed the lessons learnt from the pandemic into future plans. But this is also a chance to re-evaluate our relationship with our place, and our partners, and collectively to understand better both the impact of the pandemic, and what it means for our shared priorities over the period ahead.

One way to demonstrate our commitment to this is through our Civic University Agreement (CUA), which we at Sheffield Hallam University were proud to launch in July this year. Rooted in the heart of our region and with a long history of civic engagement, we want to be a beacon for what a university can do for and with its community. We have set out in our CUA a series of commitments to our communities that seek to address the key regional challenges we now face; and to drive positive change to improve the lives of residents and communities across South Yorkshire. I will be talking about the process we went through in developing this at the next Civic University Network Showcase event taking place on the 3rd November (further details below).

It has been great to see so many universities launching their own agreements in recent weeks - including our neighbours at the University of Sheffield, Goldsmiths of London, Solent University, and the Greater Manchester Universities agreement involving 5 different HEIs within the region. You can read more about these in our new 'Launch Pad' newsletter feature below.

The Network is here to support universities through all stages of their agreements and I hope we can all learn from observing how these agreements, and others launched or in development across the UK, progress throughout their implementation. Sharing learning across the Network helps drive us all forward on our collective civic mission.

We hope you find this newsletter informative. Please forward it to any colleagues you think it may interest and they too can register for future editions using the subscribe button below:

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CUA Launch Pad

View the latest Civic University Agreements features here and links to others launched across the Network

Striking Gold: Civic University Agreement Launch in Lewisham Goldsmiths, University of London launch Civic University Agreement in collaboration with 11 local anchor institutions.

Based in the London Borough of Lewisham in south east London, Goldsmiths, University of London launched a Civic University Agreement co-designed with 11 other organisations in the area, focused on addressing local needs.

The 12 anchor institutions have signed a new agreement to work together to boost employment, education, health and the environment across the borough. Goldsmith's Head of Civic Engagement, Dr Michael Eades has written a piece for our website on this fantastic collaboration, you can read the article in full and access a link to the full CUA via the button below:

Read the full article here

First ever Civic Universities Agreement for Greater Manchester signed!

First ever Civic University Agreement for Greater Manchester
The five higher education institutions of Greater Manchester have launched a flagship agreement with mayor Andy Burnham to work together to drive social and economic change in the city region.

The Greater Manchester Civic University Agreement was signed by the vice-chancellors of the University of Bolton, the University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University and the University of Salford, the principal of the Royal Northern College of Music and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, alongside the 10 local authority leaders of the city region, at a meeting of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority on Friday 24 September.

You can find out more and access a link to the full CUA via the button below:

Greater Manchester Universities

Other recent CUA launches:

CUA Launch:
University of Sheffield

CUA Launch:
Solent University

Upcoming Network Events

Webinar: Wednesday 3rd November 10:30 - 12:00

Civic University Showcasing and Network event - 2nd Edition
Insight from universities engaged in civic work with the opportunity to discuss the civic work that they are undertaking including what is going well and the challenges that they are facing.

Contributions from:

Sheffield Hallam University
Having recently launched their Civic University Agreement in the Summer, SHU will provide insight into the development of their plan and how the implementation phase is going.

Universities for Nottingham
(University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University)
Sharing interesting reflections on progress under the Universities for Nottingham Civic Agreement. Having just arrived at the one year since signing milestone they are working with signatory partners to explore refreshing the Agreement to ensure that it’s reflective of where they now find themselves one year on.

Hosted by:
Paul Manners, NCCPE

Register to attend via the link provided below:

London members' event: Thursday 4th November
Civic University Network: In-person London Forum

Join us for the first in-person meeting of the London Forum, a space to share civic work taking place at universities in London. Join colleagues from across the capital to discuss what it means to be truly civic in London and how we can collaborate to add value to this work. The morning will feature refreshments, informal discussions and lightning talks.

For more information, please contact Sarah Barnes – sarah.barnes@qmul.ac.uk

Register to attend and suggest a lightning talk via Eventbrite:

Member Roundtable event: Wednesday 8th December
Funding Civic

As part of our work to inform emerging government strategies around place and levelling up, we are aiming to get a richer picture of how universities fund civic activities, as well as help to identify barriers and blind spots in the system. We need your help to build this picture and would be grateful if you could answer a few questions about your institution’s approach to funding civic activities and your thoughts about the overall funding landscape.
You can help us by contributing your thoughts here, where you can also register your interest to attend a roundtable discussion about this important topic at 10:00 - 11:30 on Wednesday 8^th December.

Find out more and register to attend here:

Other events across the Network

Engage 2021 Unconference and Exhibition has launched

The National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE) has launched the virtual Engage 2021 Unconference and Exhibition! The engagement community will be leading thought-provoking workshops and discussions, hosting live chats and sharing a diversity of practices that help to refocus the role of public engagement in higher education and society. Running until Friday 12^th November.

View the Unconference programme

Experience the Exhibition

Wrexham Glyndwr University event: Thursday 25th November
Civic Mission - Our journey to ending social inequality in North Wales by 2030

We would like to invite you to join us on Zoom for an exciting roundtable discussion to explore Wrexham Glyndwr University’s civic mission in North Wales; to learn and share together with a panel of experts.

Date/Time: Thursday 25^th November, 4pm-5.30pm
Platform: Zoom

In this roundtable we explore how adopting a ‘civic mission’ changes the way that universities need to work and think. A key focus is real partnership working, building trust, actively listening and genuine co- production.

Find out more and register to attend via Eventbrite:

Previous Network event outputs

Retaining graduates locally: the value for social equality - 14/09

Hosted by the Civic University Network and jointly delivered by UPP Foundation and The Bridge Group this webinar saw the launch of a new report on the benefits for social equality of retaining graduates locally. The research underpinning this report was undertaken by the Bridge Group, with support from the UPP Foundation.
Watch the webinar recording and access the full report here.

Civic University Network Showase event - 21/09

This event was the first in a series of member led showcase events and was a fantastic display of what the Network members do to support eachother's civic endeavours; not just sharing best practice but also exploring the barriers faced and how these were overcome. Below is an overview of the outputs from the event:

Full webinar recording can be viewed here

Uni of Bath: Delivery of a civic agreement - recording and resources can be found in ‘video case studies’ section here

Uni of Bristol Barton Hill Micro Campus – recording and resources can be found in ‘other case studies’ section here

Community Chesterfield - recording and resources can be found in ‘other case studies’ section here

Access all recordings and resources via our Members' Area

FE and HE Collaboration
Call for partnership working examples

The Civic University Network is working with the Independent Commission for Colleges of the Future on a joint report focused on accelerating collaboration and overcoming barriers between colleges and universities across the four nations of the UK. With the launch planned for early December, we are currently exploring examples of best practice, and aiming to uncover ways to strengthen partnerships at both the systems and institutional levels.

If you have a sector leading or innovative example of a partnership working across both FE and HE sector or a perspective on the wider ecosystem, we want to hear from you.

Please contact Lizzie Morgan via email: e.morgan@shu.ac.uk

If you have an upcoming CUA launch or any items you would like to feature in a future edition of the Network Newsletter please contact us via the email button below.

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Civic University Network · Sheffield Hallam University · Howard Street · Sheffield, South Yorkshire S1 1WB · United Kingdom